A point well made, Helga. As was fashionable and perhaps still is , I took french for SSC. I was good at writing and also reading (if one can call the Konkani-English French which is taught in most of our schools, the French language). I had admired my french teachers for knowing all that french. Later I happend to be calling at the port of "Marseilles" in France. I was euphoric. I thought I could put my french to use. To my surprise I had to ask others what language was being spoken in Marseilles. Was it French??? Some of our so called English teachers are terrible. I believe that if a language must be taught, the teacher must have his/her tongue in it. It must be spoken like it is being spoken in the country of origin. Only then can we say that we have learnt the language of that land.
BTW the English language that most of us in India speak is not English. It is "Hinglinsh" or "Konglish" or what have you. It is not our fault at all. I am making a point here. It is the fault of our education/tuition system. My message is simple. WHILE IN ROME, DO AS THE ROMANS DO. I know that a lot of people will disagree with me. But then, I can take that challenge. Floriano Lobo goasuraj. > That's an excellent posting Constantino. I met a few first generation kids > in Portugal and like Constantino they seem to be very interested in Goa and > their parents lives pre Portugal. They are well informed and are very > enthusiastic about Goa. It would be a good idea for Constantino to > meet/contact the young adults group that hosts Viva Goa and perhaps discuss > events that would be more relevant to the present Goa. > Fred as usual never fails to educate and always hits the right note. He is > right - many of our kids do lack writing, reading and spoken English skills > and this is more so in households where parents do not speak English. In > households that do things are not so good either probably because the > education system is so geared towards the Sciences and English is left on > the back burner.. Wasn't there a posting that said that there wasn't much of > an enthusiasm for enrolling in the Arts? English teachers in colleges try > hard but few care. The other thing that never fails to astound me is how > little adults read in Goa. This translates into kids that dont either. Well > going back to households that don't speak English many of these kids will be > soon be looking for jobs in the tourism industry and perhaps in the big > multinationals that have sprouted in my village in Verna so spoken English > and a good command of the language is a must. Unfortunately that is not what > is being taught in school. 'Rapid readers' or whatever they are called are > the only source of reading material and these are probably being read aloud > to the class - very rapidly?!!!! Kids are given a few questions about the > main plot and maybe answers which then 'come' for the exams! What we need > here is ESL type of English which stresses on conversation with role play > and activities and games to enhance vocabulary. Situations like ordering in > a restaurant, the 'proper' way to handle a telephone call and making > reservations would do a world of a good. Grammar but not from the thick Wren > and Martin that I threw at my sister as a kid but one grammar point at a > time with activities and role play situations where the grammar is used. > There are tons of books in the ESL world that do just that. Perhaps our > young people in English speaking countries who visit Goa could make > themselves available to schools perhaps for a day or two or maybe someone > can come up with better and more structured ideas. I think it can work. I > taught a Hindi speaking person 'telephone English' by making him sit in > another room and pretending to call him. > Helga ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################